The Caretaker

The Caretaker (2017) Dahlia Donovan (The Sin Bin)

Freddie Whittle is a cancer nurse. It’s an incredibly hard job, and he puts too much of himself into it, but he doesn’t want to do anything else.

Taine stood silent while the nurse gathered himself. He squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly before striding purposefully into the room, shifting from worried young man to confident medical professional in the blink of an eye.

Taine Afoa is a half Scottish half-Maori retired rugby player who had an extremely unusual beginning, having been raised by the priest upon whose step he had been abandoned as an infant.

“Are you sure you’re a Catholic priest?” “God judges, son, not I. He gave you to me to cherish and love. What sort of father doesn’t love his son, whatever his choices in life?””

I really love all the characters in this story: Tain, Father Wilson, his adopted father, Freddie and his fathers. They’re all complex and complicated individuals.

Freddie had simply balked at all the constant coddling. They loved him. He knew it, but wished they’d occasionally not try to drown him in it.

I will admit that I am often aggravated by The Big Misunderstanding in romance, but I can appreciate an Issue that is well done, and I think this one was. Taine IS older than Freddie. Freddie’s fathers are ridiculously over-protective.

But mostly Freddie is delightful.

“There’s a shed that’s mine on the edge of the property.”

“Why?”

“Because when I was learning to play the bagpipes, my dads almost lost their minds. They built me a little clubhouse to practice.”

Also: cheese.

Publisher: Hot Tree Publishing
Rating: 8/10

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